finally got up and in the F4, first thoughts … very stable and easy to fly but a ■■■■■ to stop on the runway (this of course could be my total hamfisted, non educated flying)
she is also a bit of a performance hog …was noticing definite FPS variability
but over all very nice
I’d settle for the option to start on the ladder… which is pretty much what I do with VR these days - hit Fly and move the chair next to my flight sim rig, it’s like sitting on the ladder when I spawn in 
I spent an hour with a buddy as my WSO. That was a top 10 DCS moment. I cannot WAIT for videos of former F-4 dads giving it a go in VR. This may well be the first 2-seat machine where a real pilot can swap stick time with their nerd offspring and share some personal history*.
I did a bunch of 1v1 with the MiG-21 AI set to “veteran”. Got my butt kicked. Then switched to the MiG and…got my butt kicked. If AI uses the AFM FM then I suck. It was humiliating. My sweet wife saw me struggling checking six with the headset to the point of me assisting my head by grabbing the strap with my throttle hand. She said, “You are really abusing your neck. Please be careful!” She was right. I am a bit sore this morning.
Like the F-14 before it, this is a game within a game.
I find that if I treat the F-4 like a taildragger and not a jet, it flies very familiarly, albeit at much faster speeds. Landing full stall or nearly so makes for a much shorter rollout.
*Yes, there’s the Huey but somehow, as much as I love helicopters, that seems way less compelling.
Ah perfect, that saved me some trouble. I’ll go get the update.
May have earned myself a new callsign on my phirst phlight.
“Nose trim down for takeoff,” they said. “She likes to climb,” they said.
Cut to me being cocky and trying an unrestricted climb: Airborne, nose suddenly drops, bounce the gear, and airborne again.
At least I didn’t break anything.
I mean, I don’t know about the whole trip from the ready room to the paraloft then our the O-3 level (which is seriously a labyrinth) to the catwalks to the flight deck, but I would love more atmosphere that actually looks and sounds like a carrier.
Things like 1MC/ 5MC bells at the bottom and top of the hours, bosun of the watch whistles, the Air Boss running through the whole “on the flight deck” calls before starting aircraft, actual tie-down chains for planes on deck, and even just static models for plane captains, safety observers, and other Line personnel.
In VR: What is the work around for the in cockpit manual display, if there is one? Mine is only displaying a skinny, vertical, [what appears to be the] edge of the manual window.
Thanks
Did you check the procedure? Stick full aft at 80-100kn IAS, then hold it there until your climb rate increases. If you’re heavy you might have to hold full aft stick until both gear and flaps are fully retracted.
Check “Use system resolution” in the VR options or, if you care about taking screenshots and recording video, simply drag the manual fully onto your VR display (which is what I did).
Going live
Thanks for asking Victork2. I haven’t given much feedback, because I’ve been heads-down trying to get up to speed in the HB Phantom for Saturday’s schurem’s Phigfht Club. As much as I love the Phantom, the last time that I flew it in anger was Yankee Air Pirate, which are fantastic missions, but far from a study sim. Suffice it to say that HB has far exceeded my, and I think about everyone’s, expectations.
Yeah, I couldn’t be happier.
Probably won’t be able to get dad on the sticks until winter and VR is still a bit of a question with my current rig but you better believe we are going to get both of us in the air together! MC scenario or Wingman, I can’t wait to spend the summer/fall getting two workable setups going… as he reminds me, we ain’t getting any younger!!
Oh man!!! I’m going to need to check this out after lunch.
That genuinely makes me happy to hear. Out of all the people who are super excited about it, I wanted you to be happiest with it most of all. Great news mate, pleased for you 
Well, I’m at the point where I can start her up, take off, have Jester navigate me around the flight plan waypoints and land. Loving it so far! It looks like I’ll be learning about the radar next (following the order of the training tutorials).
Yes. Once I tried to level off for low transition for unrestricted climb, the nose went straight down. The nose likes to dip hard as soon as I ease off aft stick, even when turning and burning at 400-500kts. It seems to need a lot of blended pitch/roll. Coming from the Tomcat, blended pitch/roll was a big no-no. I’m used to unloading before rolling wings level after a hard turn. Phantom doesn’t seem to like that technique for whatever reason.
A couple other quirks I noticed:
Roll feels really mushy below 450kts; real easy to overbank. I need full stick deflection opposite bank to arrest my rolls. Is that because of the stubby wings?
Pitch trim puts the virtual stick in a binary full aft or full forward position, while controls indicator and trim gauge shows normal operation.
ARI doesn’t seem effective.
The roll overbank is because of roll inertia. The more stores on the wings, the more inertia. At slower speeds, some rudder is needed for snappier, more precise roll control. Outside very high AOA, where the nose SHOULD drop (stability), if you let go of the stick and the nose moves at all, this means that you are improperly trimmed.
I’m finding the roll inertia to be quite high when clean, but only at certain speeds.
Conversely, it feels like the pitch has no inertia. I can be trimmed level, snap into 60-degrees bank for a high-G pull, and when I return stick to neutral before rolling wings level the nose dips as if I shoved the stick forward. Compared to, say the Tomcat, where neutralizing stick allows the nose to continue rating just a tad before it comes to a stabilized rest. Could just be a quirk of the jet, but it’s jarring.
Currently running 0 curves 0 deadzone on a 20cm extension, force-feedback is off.
EDIT: Discovered the stick being full forward or full aft on the ground is normal because of a bobweight/bellows system. I wonder if that has something to do with my pitch overshoot when letting off G in turns.
